COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - Although it wasn't the way Coach Ronda Shirley would've scripted it, the Hutchinson Community College volleyball team found a way to get itself up by getting itself down.

Saturday

Nov 21, 2009 at 12:01 AMNov 21, 2009 at 5:00 PM

Tony Boone

The No. 13 Lady Dragons fell behind in all but one of the sets in its ninth-place match at the NJCAA National Tournament, yet rallied to beat No. 10 San Jacinto (Texas), 25-23, 24-26, 25-19, 26-24.

The difference in the outcome may have, literally, been a foot - more specifically, the right foot of sophomore Carolina Logato. She kept a rally going just in front of the Hutchinson bench when her team was trailing 20-16 in the first set by playing a tipped ball back into the air with her shoe.

"Someone else was running over there, and I saw she wasn't going to get there," Logato said. "So I just stuck it out there."

Debbie Ohl eventually recorded a kill on the play, keeping a 9-1 Dragon rally intact. After trailing 17-12 at one point, Hutchinson broke a 23-23 tie with consecutive kills by Kate Morrell and Bailea Phalen to take the opening set.

Morrell had six of match-high 18 kills during the set. Three other Dragons also posted double-digit kill totals. Ohl had 13 kills while Bailea Phalen and Logato each tallied 11.

The first-set comeback was just the beginning for Hutchinson. It was down by five but rallied to tie the second set at 24. The Dragons lost that set, bounced back to take the third before falling behind again in the fourth.

But Shirley reminded her team of the first set during a timeout, and her players took it to heart.

"It boosted out confidence even more," Ohl said. "We were frustrated, and we knew it was going to be a tough match. We never gave up, and that gave us the confidence to keep pushing. No matter what, I knew this game was going to be ours and we were going to get ninth."

Hutchinson was down 7-1 in early in the finale and trailed 23-18 late in the set. Two kills and block by Morrell ignited an 8-1 finish by the Dragons, which was capped by a final kill by Ohl.

Hutchinson, which was sent to the consolation bracket following an opening-round loss, ended the season with three consecutive wins to finish at 33-9.

"You hate to lose that first one," Shirley said. "But I don't know if I'd have wanted to have won it and lost the next three to finish higher. I'm proud of them that they could finish off their season on some wins."

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